Seattle's Best inks deal with Subway

posted: 21 DAYS 4 HOURS AGO

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SEATTLE -Starbucks Corp. will serve its Seattle's Best coffee at thousands of Subway locations, the gourmet coffee chain said Friday, more than doubling the number of locations where the drinks are served.

Under the agreement, three varieties of Seattle's Best branded coffee will be served in 9,000 U.S. Subway shops by the end of the year as part of the sandwich chain's push into attract customers to stores for breakfast.

Starbucks said Subway will add the brew to more locations next year. Seattle's Best will also be served at 800 Canadian locations by late December.

"We want to be able to take Seattle's Best Coffee out of the shadow of Starbucks and really, for the first time in its history, have a life of its own," Starbucks CFO Troy Alstead said during a conference call Thursday evening.

Seattle's Best is now sold at 6,000 locations and at supermarkets nationwide.

Fast-food chains have been fighting for a share of the fast-growing breakfast market and touting their coffee as a key player in that effort.

Terms of the agreement weren't released.

Subway, which has nearly 32,000 locations around the globe, is owned by the privately held Doctor's Associates Inc. in Milford, Conn. Starbucks is based in Seattle.

2009-11-06 08:44:01